U.S. patent number 7,722,478 [Application Number 11/840,469] was granted by the patent office on 2010-05-25 for golf club head and golf club.
Invention is credited to Josef Ebner.
United States Patent |
7,722,478 |
Ebner |
May 25, 2010 |
Golf club head and golf club
Abstract
A golf club head, in particular a golf putter head, with a
striking face, which is provided on the front side of a striking
part, for a golf ball, and with a device, which is fastened to the
rear side of the striking part, for receiving interchangeable
weights. The device has two elements which mutually intersect
preferably without any contact and to the one free end sections of
which weights can be fitted. As a result, a shifting of the center
of gravity and distribution of the weight of the head are possible
in a particularly variable manner.
Inventors: |
Ebner; Josef (A-2325 Himberg,
AT) |
Family
ID: |
38719760 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/840,469 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2007 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20080051214 A1 |
Feb 28, 2008 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Aug 23, 2006 [AT] |
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1408/2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
473/335;
473/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
53/0487 (20130101); A63B 53/04 (20130101); A63B
60/02 (20151001); A63B 60/00 (20151001); A63B
53/065 (20130101); A63B 2053/0491 (20130101); A63B
53/0433 (20200801) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
53/04 (20060101); A63B 53/06 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;473/324-350 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hunter; Alvin A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ostrolenk Faber LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A golf club head, comprising: a striking face, which is provided
on a front side of a striking part, for striking a golf ball, and a
weight receiving device, which is fastened to a rear side of the
striking part, opposite to the front side, for receiving
interchangeable weights, wherein the weight receiving device has
two elements which mutually intersect behind said rear side, each
element having a proximal end section attached to the rear side of
the striking part, and a free end section to which said weights can
be fitted; characterized in that the elements are two crossbars
which mutually intersect at an intersection location intermediate
said proximate end and said free end, without any contact between
the crossbars at said intersection location; and characterized in
that the crossbars which mutually intersect without any contact
each comprise a straight central section and said proximal and said
free end sections protruding therefrom at angles.
2. The golf club head according to claim 1, characterized in that
each crossbar is provided with a depression in a region
intersecting with the other crossbar, whereby the crossbars engage
one inside the other without any contact in the region of their
respective depressions.
3. The golf club head according to claim 1, wherein further weights
can be fitted interchangeably to lateral end sections of the
striking part.
4. The golf club head according to claim 3, further comprising
weights that are interchangeably attachable to at least one of said
weight-receiving device and said lateral end sections of the
striking part.
5. A golf club, with a head according to claim 1; and a shaft
fastened to said head.
6. The golf club head according to claim 1, characterized in that
each crossbar is provided with a depression in a region
intersecting with the other crossbar, whereby the crossbars engage
one inside the other without any contact in the region of their
respective depressions.
7. The golf club head according to claim 1, further comprising
weights that are interchangeably attachable to said weight
receiving device.
8. A golf club head, comprising: a striking face, which is provided
on a front side of a striking part, for striking a golf ball, and a
weight receiving device, which is fastened to a rear side of the
striking part, opposite to the front side, for receiving
interchangeable weights, wherein the weight receiving device has
two elements which mutually intersect behind said rear side, each
element having a proximal end section attached to the rear side of
the striking part, and a free end section to which said weights can
be fitted; wherein further weights can be fitted interchangeably to
lateral end sections of the striking part; characterized in that
the weight-receiving device and the lateral end sections are
threaded such that the weights can be fitted in the manner of
screws.
9. The golf club head according to claim 8, further comprising
weights for being received on at least one of said weight receiving
device and said striking part.
10. A golf club, with a head according to claim 9; and a shaft
fastened to said head.
11. The golf club head according to claim 9, wherein said weights
are threaded for being fitted in the weight receiving device and
the striking part in the manner of screws.
12. The golf club head according to claim 9, characterized in that
each crossbar is provided with a depression in a region
intersecting with the other crossbar, whereby the crossbars engage
one inside the other without any contact in the region of their
respective depressions.
13. A golf club head, comprising: a striking face, which is
provided on a front side of a striking part, for striking a golf
ball, and a weight receiving device, which is fastened to a rear
side of the striking part, opposite to the front side, for
receiving interchangeable weights, wherein the weight receiving
device has two elements which mutually intersect behind said rear
side, each element having a proximal end section attached to the
rear side of the striking part, and a free end section to which
said weights can be fitted; wherein further weights can be fitted
interchangeably to lateral end sections of the striking part;
wherein said lateral end sections have apertures in the rear side
of the striking part for receiving and securing the one ends of the
two elements.
14. The golf club head according to claim 13, wherein said lateral
end sections and said one ends are threaded for being secured
together by a threaded weight.
Description
BACKGROUND
1. Field
This patent disclosure relates to a golf club head, in particular a
golf putter head, with a striking face, which is provided on the
front side of a striking part, for a golf ball, and with a device,
which is fastened to the rear side of the striking part, for
arranging interchangeable weights. The invention furthermore
relates to a golf club with a head of this type.
2. Related Art
The putter is used in golf in order to hole or to putt the ball on
the green. The putter usually comprises a putter head and a shaft
with a grip. The individual parts of the putter are connected
fixedly to one another. A shifting of mass in the putter head is
achieved by the putter head itself having a small mass, and as
large a mass as possible being selected from one or more additional
weights. The putter head itself is therefore produced from a
material with a low specific weight, preferably light metal, and a
metal with a higher specific weight is used for the additional
weights. The additional weights are fitted to the rear part of the
putter head, on the opposite side of the putter striking face or
the engagement point of the shaft.
Different variant embodiments of putter heads are known which
permit different weights to be fitted in an interchangeable manner.
A putter head of this type is known, for example, from US
2006/0154740 A1. In this case, a variable number of weights can be
fitted in a selectable longitudinal position on two bolts arranged
in parallel, in order in this manner not only to be able to change
or adjust the putter weight but also the center of gravity of the
putter. WO 2006/071606 A2 discloses a putter head which has a base
part which is manufactured from a material with a low specific
weight, for example aluminum and to which different weights can be
fitted, to the part furthest away from the striking face, and
therefore the center of gravity of the weight can be shifted as far
away as possible from the striking face.
SUMMARY
The disclosed golf club head, in particular a putter head, is
designed in such a manner that the shifting of the center of
gravity and distribution of the weight of the head is possible in a
more variable manner than in the case of the known systems.
The device has two elements which mutually intersect without any
contact and to the free end sections of which weights can be
fitted.
With this golf club head design, it is possible to shift the center
of gravity of the weight of the head both away from the striking
face and in the lateral direction in a simple manner. At the same
time, the overall weight of the head can be varied within a wide
range.
In a preferred embodiment, the elements which mutually intersect
without any contact are two crossbars. A golf club head designed in
such a manner is particularly insensitive to twisting if its
striking face to the side of the sweet spot is hit.
The golf club head can be particularly readily balanced in terms of
weight if the elements or crossbars which mutually intersect
without any contact comprise, in particular, a straight central
section and end sections protruding there from at obtuse
angles.
According to a further feature, the elements or crossbars which
mutually intersect without any contact are fastened by their other
end sections to the rear side of the striking part. This measure
provides the golf club head with a compact construction and assists
comfortable handling of the golf club.
The two crossbars can be arranged in a particularly simple manner
without mutual height offset if each crossbar is provided with a
depression in the intersecting region with the other crossbar, and
therefore the two crossbars can engage one inside the other without
any contact in the region of their depressions.
Further weights for balancing the golf club head or for shifting
the center of gravity can easily be fitted interchangeably to the
lateral ends of the striking part. The interchanging of weights of
differing size is particularly simple if the weights are designed
and can be fitted in the manner of screws.
Also disclosed is a golf club, in particular a golf putter, with a
head designates described herein.
Other features and advantages will become apparent from the
following description of embodiments, which refers to the
accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features, advantages and details of the disclosed golf club
and head are described in more detail with reference to the
drawings which schematically illustrate an exemplary embodiment. In
the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows an oblique view of an embodiment of a golf putter
head, and
FIG. 2 shows the golf putter head from FIG. 1 in plan view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The figures of the drawings show an exemplary embodiment of an
assembled golf putter head 1 which has an elongate, plate- or
bar-shaped striking part 2 with a striking face 2a on one
longitudinal side. A bushing 4 for receiving and fastening a club
shaft (not illustrated) is provided on the upper side of the
striking part 2. Openings 2d for the insertion of short end
sections 3a of two crossbars 3 are formed on the lateral end
sections of the rear side 2c of the striking part 2, which side
lies opposite the striking face 2a. The two crossbars 3, which are
designed such that they correspond, have long central sections 3b
and further short, but free end sections 3c. The crossbars 3
mutually intersect in the region of their central sections 3b which
protrude from the end sections 3a at an obtuse angle. The free end
sections 3c protrude from the central sections 3b likewise at
obtuse angles and approximately parallel to the striking part 2.
Each crossbar 3 has a depression 3d on its central section 3b, and
therefore the two crossbars 3 can be arranged such that they
intersect without a mutual height offset, with no mutual contact of
the crossbars 3 taking place in the intersecting region. Weights 7
which differ in each case in heaviness can be screwed
interchangeably onto the free end section 3c of each crossbar
3.
Weights 9 which differ in heaviness can likewise be screwed
interchangeably onto the end surfaces 2b of the striking part 2. It
is furthermore possible for the weights 9 to fasten the crossbars 3
to the striking part 2, by said weights passing through threaded
holes in the end sections 3a of said crossbars.
The weights 7, 9 make it possible, firstly, to laterally balance
the putter head 1 and, secondly, to shift the center of gravity of
the putter head rearward in the direction of the free end sections
3c of the crossbars 3. In the case of a putter head 1 designed as
described herein, the entire weight of the putter head 1 can
therefore be influenced or adjusted, and the center of gravity can
be shifted in the desired direction.
A further advantage of the crossbars 3 which have been crossed but
arranged without any contact is the noticeable insensitivity of the
putter head to twisting if its striking face is hit to the side of
the sweet spot (of the center).
Another advantage of balancing the putter head is also provided in
embodiments in which the two crossbars 3 are in contact or in which
the crossbars are connected to each other in the intersecting
region. Instead of two crossbars, a component with parts arranged
in an X-shaped manner can therefore also be provided.
The crossbars 3 are preferably produced from a metallic material,
in particular a titanium alloy, and preferably have a circular or
square cross section. In the intersecting region, the mutual
distance between the two crossbars 3 is preferably between 2 mm and
5 mm in order to avoid the crossbars 3 coming into contact during
vibrations, which occur during use, of the putter head 1.
The golf club and head are not restricted to the exemplary
embodiment illustrated. It is possible, in particular, to arrange
the two crossbars 3 such that they intersect in another manner, for
example by one passing through the other.
Although particular embodiments have been disclosed, many other
variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to
those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not
limited by the specific disclosure herein.
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